更上一层楼

更上一層樓

gèngshàngyīcénglóu

idiom #20,022

Meanings

1 to take it up a notch
2 to go one step higher
3 to bring something to an even greater level

Characters

even more / further

floor / story / layer

building / tower / floor

Examples

你的成绩已经很好了，希望你继续努力，更上一层楼。

Nǐ de chéngjì yǐjīng hěn hǎo le, xīwàng nǐ jìxù nǔlì, gèng shàng yī céng lóu.

Your grades are already great — I hope you keep working hard and reach an even higher level.

公司业绩连年增长，今年更上一层楼。

Gōngsī yèjì liánnián zēngzhǎng, jīnnián gèng shàng yī céng lóu.

The company's performance has grown year after year; this year it has reached a new high.

Tips

history

This idiom comes from the Tang dynasty poem 登鹳雀楼 (Ascending Stork Tower) by 王之涣 (Wáng Zhīhuàn). The full couplet reads: 欲穷千里目，更上一层楼 — 'To see a thousand miles further, climb one more story of the tower.' The poem is one of the most memorized in the Chinese classical canon.

Stroke Order

更 gèng

上 shàng

一 yī

层 céng

楼 lóu